Jan052018

Rep. Kristi Noem today met with South Dakota farmers at Titan Machinery in Watertown as part of her statewide Tax Cuts and Jobs Tour. As the only farmer/rancher on the tax reform negotiating team, Noem championed many of South Dakota agriculture’s priorities. This includes immediate expensing and interest deductibility, as well as a 20 percent small business deduction that many producers and agriculture co-ops can take advantage of. While Noem continues to fight for a full and permanent repeal of the Death Tax, exemption levels were doubled through tax reform.

“Our farm has been in the family for more than a century,” said Noem. “We’ve survived bad droughts, bad floods, and bad tax policies. While we can’t change the weather, it was the opportunity of a lifetime to change the tax policies that have held agriculture back in the past. We work in a highly leveraged and unpredictable industry, so our priorities look different than that of a typical business. With interest deductibility, immediate expensing, and lower tax rates, the new tax code was clearly built with farmers and ranchers in mind.”

Throughout the tax reform debate, Noem met with hundreds of South Dakotans to discuss the plan – both in the state and in her Washington, D.C. office. Noem also earned Volga producer Scott VanderWal the opportunity to testify before the House’s tax reform committee about agriculture’s priorities.

Noem, who served on the final tax reform negotiating team, is visiting Rapid City, Brookings, Sioux Falls, Huron, Watertown, Aberdeen and Pierre as part of her statewide Tax Cuts and Jobs Tour. In each community, Noem is sitting down with South Dakotans to discuss tax reform’s impact on their businesses, paychecks and families.

Highlights of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for Agriculture

First-ever 20% tax deduction that applies to the first $315,000 of joint income for many farms and ranches as well as for agriculture co-ops.

Allows for immediate expensing, which will help farmers upgrade their operations by letting taxpayers depreciate 100 percent of qualified expenses the year they are purchased.

Expands interest deductibility, which allows farmers and ranchers to deduct interest payments and is critical for a highly-leveraged industry like agriculture.

Doubles Death Tax exemption levels for the first eight years.

Preserves options for like-kind exchanges.

Expands Section 179, which allows farmers and ranchers to deduct the cost of some types of property as an expense, allowing farmers to better manage depreciation.

Expands cash accounting to protect farmers and others from paying taxes on things they have yet to receive payment on.

Lowers individual tax rates, setting them at 0%, 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, benefiting the majority of producers, who often file as individuals.

Nearly doubles the standard deduction, meaning the first $24,000 a married couple makes or the first $12,000 an individual makes is tax free. Provides unprecedented support for families.